Remake of a durable Jean Webster story (it's also been the basis of at least two stage musicals), this lavish mid-50s Fox effort is a curious mixture of charm, studio efficiency, and pretentiousness. The latter manifests itself mainly in a couple of ponderous Roland Petit ballets, where Leslie Caron, as the enchanting young French orphan being sent to college by anonymous benefactor Fred Astaire, executes the steps beautifully and it's still dull. The rest is diverting, if you can get past (and many can't) the 32-year age difference between Astaire and Caron; do we believe this as a love story? Both stars give it their all, and when they're dancing together, in the lively "Sluefoot" and the Oscar-nominated "Something's Gotta Give," it's as good as an MGM Arthur Freed effort. The screenplay, by the Ephrons, is short on humor and long on exposition, and the capable supporting cast, including Fred Clark, Thelma Ritter, Terry Moore, and Larry Keating, hasn't a great deal to do. I had a good time revisiting this one after decades, but I was reminded of how superior Hugh Martin's score to "Love From Judy," a British stage adaptation of the same material that ran and ran, is to Johnny Mercer's efforts. And MGM would have had the good sense to at least trim some of the ponderous Roland Petit.
Review of Daddy Long Legs
